SEM Cork Images

Before having read the excerpt from Robert Hooke’s Micrographia, I thought a cork would be an interesting object to look at on a microscopic level due to it’s unique consistency. A cork definitely has some give when you squeeze it, and you can tell that it must be a relatively porous material. The images are in order from furthest away to closest up.

My favorite two observations from these images are first: examining the walls between the cells inside the cork. I thought it was really interesting that there seems to be some sort of material keeping the cells adhered to each other. Second, I enjoyed the last image in the series that shows one of the cell walls. I asked Donna what it was, and she said that it was probably the walls cracking from dehydration.